Posts by Max Silvestri
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Chopped: All-Stars: Checking In With Our Old Celebrity Cook-off Pals Joey and Johnny
It used to be that if I wanted to spend two or three hours obliterating my free time, I watched Law & Order. Now I watch Food Network’s Chopped. I’m not sure what changed. I think it’s more difficult for me to stop myself from watching another Chopped when I’m on a binge. With Law […]
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The Worst Cooks in America Finale: The Bittersweet Pride of Being the Best of the Worst
The fourth season of Worst Cooks in America was only seven episodes long, but it felt much longer. Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-off, at six episodes, is a bite-size mushroom quiche at a cocktail party compared to this show, which feels like you’re being made at gunpoint to try to finish every dish on the […]
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Worst Cooks in America, Episode 6: Butter and Hash
With only four contestants left, Worst Cooks in America is a different show. Last week the judges eliminated Carla and Michael, cooks with two of the clearest gimmicks: Wanna-Lay-Bobby-Flay and Bow-Tie-Accounting-Dork. With their dismissal, all that’s left is to watch the most capable cooks compete, though that distinction is profoundly relative. On other cooking reality […]
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Worst Cooks in America, Episode 5: Dumplings, Lucifer, and ‘Biker Dudes’
Sunday was the fifth episode of the season, and I no longer feel like I’m watching bad cooks become better at cooking. I am now watching bad cooks become better at being on television. However much Anne and Bobby are coaching the contestants on-screen pales in comparison to how much the producers are coaching them […]
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Worst Cooks in America, Episode 4: Dumb Racism, Worse Puns, and Cake That Tastes Like ‘Furniture Cleaner’
This show spends very little time in the Real Worst World house, and that’s likely for the best. I read an interview with Carrie Lee and she said much of the downtime was spent putting makeup and drag on Aadip and Alex. I bet Alex put on women’s clothing a lot in college, for the […]
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Worst Cooks in America, Episode 3: Ice Cream and Grease Fires
This show is brutal. Last week we saw Dr. Bob and Big Mike sent home, and if those two barrels of charisma can’t cut it, who can? The two of them were clearly talented: Mike could probably walk onto any indoor football team in Canada, and Bob’s background in chiropractology gifted him with hands strong […]
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Worst Cooks in America, Episode 2: Vegetarians Don’t Eat Chicken
After my recap of the premiere went up last week, people left comments. That’s how these things work. But it was not just “civilian” people leaving comments; there were also comments from this season’s contestants. If I was on a cable reality show, I’d definitely mix it up on Grantland. Aadip thanked me for the […]
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Worst Cooks in America, Episode 1: Ketchup and Skittles
A Sunday night without a soul-extinguishing cooking show didn’t quite feel right after the trauma of Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, so Mark Lisanti here was kind enough to let me keep this sad-party rolling with Worst Cooks in America. He is a classic enabler. In choosing to watch this show I feel a bit […]
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Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off Season 2, Episode 6: ‘Star-Studded Supper’
The sixth episode of Rachael Vs Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off was also its last. Perhaps Food Network is modeling this season after the British model of short “series,” and that makes sense considering the show’s intense commitment to quality. But it’s a bad omen that the season finale begins with lie after lie. Guy says that […]
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Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off Season 2, Episode 5: ‘Lights, Camera, Lunch Trucks’
I’ve not had time to check with the Nielsen people, but I can only imagine that the penultimate episode of Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off on Sunday night won its time slot handily, across all demographics. For some reason, and I can’t think of what that reason might be, Food Network moved it to 10 […]
